The Pasadena Colorado Street Bridge spans the riverbed of the Arroyo Seco. It was completed in 1913 and cost $191,000 to build. The bridge features some beautiful Beaux Arts fixtures, including light standards, railing and arches. This pretty concrete bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and has also been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Unfortunately, this bridge also has a dark, creepy history.
On November 16, 1919, a man jumped from the bridge - the first suicide of many.
Dozens of suicides would follow. Between 1919 and 1937 (the end of the Great Depression), as many as 95 people jumped to their deaths. More than 150 people have committed suicide on this bridge, giving it the nickname "Suicide Bridge." Though a suicide barrier was installed in 1993, about 10 people per year still take their lives here.
It's not surprising that many ghostly sightings have occurred at Suicide Bridge.
Visitors to the bridge tell stories of laughter, whispers, footsteps and screams. Some see full apparitions, even believing that someone is about to jump. When bystanders start to call for help, the apparition disappears into thin air.
On May 1, 1937, a young mother tried to take her own life by jumping off Suicide Bridge.
Myrtle Ward took her three-year-old daughter with her to the bridge that morning. Myrtle's husband had abandoned them, and she was severely depressed. She threw her child off the side, then jumped herself. The little girl landed in some trees and shrubbery and survived the fall, but Myrtle was killed upon impact. Her ghost is said to roam the bridge, calling for her daughter.
The ghost of a woman in a white, flowing robe is often seen clinging to the light standards.
As she jumps off the bridge, she vanishes.
A man wearing wire-rimmed glasses strolls along the bridge in the evening. As people approach, he disappears.
The man is thought to be one of the many who killed themselves during the Great Depression.
Below the bridge, sightings of ghosts are common. Homeless people, joggers and cyclists see specters and hear mumbling and moaning.
One ghost walks right past the living, hissing "her fault" as he passes. When you turn to watch him walk away, he's no longer there.
A construction worker who fell to his death in 1913 may also haunt the bridge.
According to the legend, he fell into wet concrete below and was left there to die. Workers poured more concrete over his body, and he is still entombed there today. Some believe that his spirit calls out to those who are depressed and suicidal, and that he draws them to the bridge.
Tragically, people continue to take their own lives at Suicide Bridge. Despite the eight-foot suicide barrier, police patrols and well-meaning bystanders, some people still leap from the bridge, tumbling 150 feet to the riverbed below.
Have you ever visited this bridge? Did you see anything supernatural while you were there? Tell us about it!
Ready to explore more haunted places in Southern California? Check out these Haunted Hotels.
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